Host a Seminar or Networking Event and Watch Your Customers Drool Over Themselves to Attend


By Allen Taylor


A great way to create a buzz for your business, its products and services, is to sponsor a seminar or networking event.

This is a lot easier to do than you can imagine. Just find a central location to the geographic area you expect people to come from or some place accessible to all corners of your area. Somewhere in that square mile or two there should be a hotel or other building that rents rooms.

When renting a location for your seminar, be sure to get a place that will hold more people than what you expect to attend. In other words, if you expect 80 people to attend your seminar, try to find a place that can seat at least 100. Fire halls, schools, hotels, convention centers, and other public places prominent in your area are good places.

If your seminar is free - and most of them should be - then be sure you don't get too expensive. You can rent a place at a very reasonable price in most locations. You can even partner with another firm and cut your costs for facilities in half.

Next, spread the word. Tell everyone you know about your event: Where it will be, when it will be, what you expect to deliver, hold nothing back. Come up with every angle for getting people there. Why would they come to your event? If you can offer something free for people who attend then that might entice enough people to make your time worthwhile. But remember the real reason you are there: You are promoting your business.

People will come for two reasons: Free food and free information. Offer both and you are sure to have a good group of prospects.

Here are some ways to promote your seminar or networking event: Send press releases to all the major media in your area, print some flyers and distribute them to area businesses (you can even ask the place you are having the event to help you distribute them), send post cards and invitations through a direct mail campaign and purchase small ads in your local papers.

No matter what kind of business you are in, you have information people want to know. If you are a mechanic you can give a free seminar for women on how to bleed your own breaks. A book store manager can offer a free book discussion group. If you live in a town with a lot of businesses you can start a networking club and invite fellow business owners to a once a week breakfast. The possibilities are endless.

Think of what you have in common with others in your area and focus on that. Is it location? Type of business? Same customers? Whatever it is, use it as your focal point for getting started, then build from there.

Allen Taylor is an award-winning journalist, freelance writer and copywriter. He specializes in world-class marketing for small businesses.


More Resources

Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting

More Networking Information:

Related Articles

Five Best Ways To Build A Network
I have been working from home on the internet for over 3 years now. 18 months of that was spent trying out various different programs trying to find things that would work for me and this done nothing more than cost me thousands of dollars and also caused me to neglect my family friends and my health, as a result I then took a break from internet marketing and got my life in order.
Client Attraction Technique #2: Networking
One of the most cost effective ways of generating leads and referrals. However it's important that you 'work' these opportunities in the correct way.
Come Home Rich - How to Get the Most out of Your Next Conference
Success in your career depends upon how well you manage your professional development. A prime source of this development comes from being a member of a professional association that relates to your career.
Are You Leveraging Your Business Network?
Just yesterday I received an email from a colleague telling me her husband had been laid off from yet another corporate job. Will the downsizing ever stop? I doubt it.
Franchisees Should Learn From Each Other
If you own a franchise you should be in contact with your nearest franchisees and share information as if you were the manager of a corporate store. You should set up meetings once or twice per month and have their phone numbers logged into your speed dial for easy reference.
10 Top Tips for Successful Networking
1. Recognise the importance of networkingAsk any successful business person and they will tell you that above all else networking skills are absolutely vital to grow your business.
How to Shmooze
Definition: talk idly or casually in a friendly wayValue: pricelessGearheads like me have trouble understanding that great ideas and hard work aren't enough..
Lesson 61 - When Does Aggressiveness Turn Into Annoyance?
The StoryWhen attending conferences, conventions, or private events, it's guaranteed that you will talk with many people, especially those sitting at your table. Perhaps you may talk with someone you haven't met before.
Networking for Wallflowers: How to Profit from Getting into the Crowd
The two most common complaints about networking are: 1) I never meet people I can do business with and 2) I am always so uncomfortable going to networking events. These two complaints are related and can be relieved with a three step approach to networking that helps even the most frustrated networking wallflowers.
Unforgettable First Impressions Part 1: Discover the CPI
People like others whom they are like. So if you want to make a flawless first impression, it is your duty to discover what you have in common with every person you talk to.
Have We Met Before? What to Do When You Cant Remember Who Yourre Talking To
You see him from across the room. You know him, but you can't remember how you know him.
The Secrets to Networking Success
Recently I was interviewed for a book on networking. My first response was, "Hey, I don't network.
How to Keep from Sounding LIKE Totally Stupid
June is reality check month. Lots of the resolutions have been made and most are already broken.
Write It Down!
Why would you want to write information on paper when you have a business card in hand?Putting it on paper can mean a number of things. It can simply mean putting notes on the back of someone's business card, or it can mean to take extensive notes in a notebook.
Powerful Networking: Focus on Building Connections, Not Closing Sales
You can find numerous references in the business literature about the importance of a company's mission. These sources emphasize that the mission is not to make a profit; that a profit is the outcome of and reward for fulfilling the mission.
Alcohol & Events
Many people associate alcohol with relaxation and fun, so it is an important ingredient for a successful event. However, it can be a problem and too much alcohol can cause a great deal of trouble.
Hows Your Net Working?
In recent weeks, I've had the opportunity to pass along no fewer than five referrals to other people in my network. I also recently received a very professional and non-pushy email from someone I've never met, who is a member of an organization I'm part of.
Flying High, Flying Far
"What me? Sell myself? You have to be joking!"This was the response I received from one of my clients when I suggested that she needed to get out there and promote herself. She had to "network".
How to Organize a Successful Bad Sweater Party
"Hey Scott, would you like to go to a Bad Sweater Party this weekend?""A what party?!" I said."A Bad Sweater Party.
How to Find Participants for a Trial Run
Why is a network meeting the best place to get participants for a trial run?We talked about taking a booth at a networking event, or at least sharing a booth. The booth has to be more than informational in order to help you move your product or service.